Thesis. 1978. Ph.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Earth and Planetary Science. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Science. / Bibliography: leaves 279-290. / Ph.D.

No description available.

The Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) method has been widely used to evaluate the subsurface in engineering applications since late 1990’s. In MASW, surface waves are introduced into the subsurface and recorded by sensors along the ground surface. The characteristics of the propagating surface wave are influenced by the subsurface stratification, the manner in which the surface waves are input into the ground, and the survey parameters to acquire data. Rayleigh waves are typically generated by vertical strikes on a metallic plate which serves as a coupler between the active input source (e.g., a sledgehammer) and the ground surface. It has been suggested that plastic-type base plates can improve the low-frequency energy of Rayleigh waves and therefore, can increase the depth of investigation among other potential improvements. However, very little studies exist in the literature that evaluate the role of base plate material, especially plastic materials. In addition to Rayleigh surface waves, seismic surface waves can also be generated with horizontal impacts (i.e., Love waves) using specialized base plates. In this regard, much less is available in the literature regarding Love waves as sources in MASW testing which means that optimum field survey parameters, the effects of near-field, and the role of seismic source have not been thoroughly investigated yet for Love waves. Given the aforementioned gaps in the literature, two aspects of MASW have been investigated. First, the role of base plate material, specifically plastic-type plates, has been studied. Field data collected from six sites along with the data from laboratory experiments and numerical simulations of hammer-plate impact were studied. The results showed that softer base plates improve the energy transfer by as much 20% and lead to minor improvements, typically one-digit numbers in relative changes, in other signal characteristics such as signal bandwidth and signal-to-noise ratio. These results were corroborated with laboratory testing and numerical models of wave propagation with different base plate materials. The second goal was to improve understanding of Love wave propagation, particularly as related to resolution capabilities from survey parameters. Rayleigh and Love waveforms were collected with multiple active seismic sources at three sites and a systematic comparison was made between the two types of waves. Also, seismic wave propagation was simulated using the research community code SPECFEM2D to further investigate their differences. The results revealed critical new information about the depth of investigation, the effects of bedrock location on near-field effects, and the role of the different survey parameters on Rayleigh and Love wave data. The depth of investigation of Love wave MASW was deeper by about 2-9 m than that of Rayleigh MASW as a result of improved minimum frequency. The minimum source offset to avoid near-field effects was comparable for both Rayleigh and Love waves (0.3-0.4 of maximum wavelength). At closer source offset locations, Rayleigh waves were more affected by near-field effects and showed an additional 10% underestimation of planar phase velocities. Overall, the results from both parts of this study provides new practical insights about some of the unexplored aspects of surface wave testing using MASW. / Civil Engineering

Este trabalho teve como objetivo a realização de um estudo sobre o método MASW (Análise Multicanal de Ondas de Superfície) avaliando-se comparativamente resultados obtidos por diferentes fontes (ativas e passivas), ondas Rayleigh e Love e diferentes modos de propagação das ondas de superfície. Dois ensaios sísmicos foram executados: com geometria de aquisição bidimensional e geofones triaxiais de 10Hz, e com geometria linear e geofones de componente vertical de 4,5Hz. Foram realizados estudos com as fontes marreta, compactador de solo, ruído ambiental e com o tráfego de veículos, a última através da técnica Passive Roadside MASW. Resultados de inversões com dados da componente vertical (ondas Rayleigh) das ondas de superfície foram avaliados com os de inversões conjuntas com a componente radial (ondas Rayleigh) e transversal (ondas Love). Analisou-se também os produtos de inversões da curva de dispersão do modo fundamental com os de inversões conjuntas com o primeiro modo superior. Os estudos foram realizados em frente ao Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciência Atmosféricas (IAG) localizado no interior do campus Cidade Universitária Armando de Salles Oliveira (CUASO) da Universidade de São Paulo (USP) no bairro do Butantã, São Paulo. A área de estudo possui informações de sondagem mista com descrição geológica do material e valores SPT (Standard Penetration Test) que foram utilizados para validação dos resultados. O compactador de solo demonstrou ser uma melhor fonte ativa em relação a marreta através de diferentes aspectos: geração de maior energia tanto na componente vertical quanto na transversal; espectros (V,f) de melhor qualidade; os dados apresentam a vantagem de poderem ser processados através da técnica f-k beamforming. A aquisição com o ruído ambiental não possibilitou a interpretação de curvas de dispersão devido ao pouco tempo de aquisição utilizado. Os dados obtidos pela técnica Passive Roadside MASW contribuíram com os dados de ativa através do registro de frequências mais baixas. Além disso, devido a clara identificação do 1° modo superior em seu espectro (V,f) foi possível a identificação do mesmo modo no espectro (V,f) dos dados de ativa, interpretação até então duvidosa. No entanto, a inversão conjunta das curvas de dispersão dos dados Passive Roadside com as dos dados de ativa não resultou em uma melhor inversão comparada com a inversão obtida apenas pelas curvas de ativa. A inversão conjunta de curvas das componentes radial (ondas Rayleigh) e transversal (ondas Love) com as curvas obtidas da componente vertical (ondas Rayleigh) também não trouxe um melhor resultado quando comparada com a inversão alcançada apenas com as curvas da componente vertical. A utilização do primeiro modo superior com o modo fundamental, no entanto, mostrou trazer melhoras significativas nos resultados das inversões em comparação com inversões apenas da curva do modo fundamental. Considerando as incertezas envolvidas os melhores resultados deste trabalho são convergentes com os dados de sondagem da área de estudo. No atual estágio de desenvolvimento do método MASW diversas etapas são bastante dependentes do operador. Neste sentido os estudos realizados neste trabalho contribuem para um melhor entendimento do método nos seus fundamentos, parâmetros de aquisição e processamento. / This work aim to study the MASW (Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves) method by comparing results obtained with different sources (active and passive), Rayleigh and Love waves and different modes of surface waves propagation. Two seismic tests were performed: one with two-dimensional acquisition geometry and 10Hz triaxial geophones, and the other with linear geometry and 4.5 Hz vertical component geophones. Studies were carried out with the following sources: sledgehammer, rammer compactor, ambient noise and vehicular traffic, the last through the Passive Roadside MASW technique. Inversions results with vertical component data (Rayleigh waves) were evaluated through joint inversions with the radial (Rayleigh waves) and transversal (Love waves) components. It were also analyzed the inversions results of the fundamental mode of the dispersion curve with the results of joint inversions with the first higher mode. The studies were carried out in front of the Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciência Atmosféricas (IAG) (Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Science) located inside the university campus Cidade Universitária Armando de Salles Oliveira (CUASO) of Universidade de São Paulo (USP) (University of São Paulo) in the neighborhood of Butantã, São Paulo. The study area has information with a geological material description and SPT (Standard Penetration Test) values that were used to validate the results. The rammer compactor showed to be a better active source in relation to sledgehammer through different aspects: generation of greater energy in vertical and transverse components; better quality of (V,f) spectrum; the data have the advantage that they can be processed using the f-k beamforming technique. The acquisition with ambient noise did not allow the dispersion curves interpretation due to the short acquisition time used. Passive Roadside MASW data contributed to the active data through the lower frequency. Besides that, due to the clear identification of the 1st higher mode in its (V,f) spectrum it was possible to identify the same mode in the (V,f) spectrum of the active data, interpretation that was, until then, doubtful. However, the joint inversion of the Passive Roadside dispersion curves with the active curves did not produce better results compared to the inversion obtained only by the active curves. The joint inversion of dispersion curves from radial (Rayleigh) and transversal (Love waves) components with the curves obtained by the vertical component (Rayleigh waves) also did not bring a better result when compared with the inversion achieved only by the vertical component curves. The use of the first higher mode with the fundamental mode, however, showed significant improvements in the joint inversions results compared to inversions only of the fundamental mode curve. Considering the uncertainties involved, the best results of this work converge with the a priori information of the study area. At the current MASW method stage of development, several steps are quite dependent on the operator. Therefore, the studies carried out in this work contribute to a better understanding of the method in its fundamentals, acquisition parameters and processing.

Conventional contact ultrasonic methods suffer from large variability, which is known to originate from a number of sources such as coupling variability, and the surface roughness at the transducer/specimen interface. The inherently small higherharmonic signals can be significantly influenced by the changes in contact conditions, especially in nonlinear ultrasonic measurements. For this reason, the noncontact generation and detection techniques are very attractive. This research first focuses on the optical generation of tone-burst surface acoustic waves in a metallic specimen. Two methods that use laser light as an optical source are compared for generating surface acoustics waves in the 5 MHz range. Both the shadow mask and diffraction grating are used to convert a laser pulse to a tone-burst signal pattern on the specimen. The generated signals are detected by a wedge transducer at a fixed location and then the harmonic contents in the generated signals and the repeatability of the methods are evaluated. Finally, the developed method is used to characterize the material nonlinearity of aluminum (Al 6061) and steel (A36). The results showed repeatable measurements for ablative signal excitation on aluminum.

The use of geophysical testing methods has considerable potential to be a cost effective and accurate technique to assess near-surface soil conditions. Multi channel analysis of surface waves (MASW) test is a geophysical non-intrusive test that uses the dispersive characteristic of Rayleigh waves to estimate low strain shear modulus and damping coefficient of near-surface soil. Also, this technique is used to detect underground voids. Recently, MASW technique has gained more attention, partly because of its ease of use and partly because of the significant improvements in data acquisition systems. The theories of MASW test consider the effect of horizontal soil layering, though the effect of lateral inhomogeneities (i. e. cavities and voids), inclined layering and inverse layering (i. e. a layered system in which the top layers are stiffer than the bottom ones) are not addressed properly in these theories. <br /><br /> The objective of this dissertation is to investigate the effect of lateral inhomogeneities on the propagation of Rayleigh waves in an elastic half-space excited by a transient loading. The results can be applied to locate underground cavities using MASW test and to improve the MASW analysis techniques. In lieu of theoretical solutions, two and three dimensional numerical models are constructed to simulate the MASW test. To assure the quality of the obtained data, numerical models are calibrated with Lamb solution. Voids with different sizes and embedment depths are inserted in the medium. Responses along the surface as well as inside the medium are recorded and analyzed in time, frequency, spatial and frequency-wave number domains. Different material types and sources are used to generalize the results. Afterwards, the combined effect of void and layered systems on the surface responses are studied. To verify the results, experimental field and laboratory data are presented and the trends are compared to the numerical results. <br /><br /> It is found that the void starts to vibrate in response to the Rayleigh wave excitation. Due to the vibration of the void energy partitioning occurs. Part of the incident energy is reflected in the form of Rayleigh wave. Another part is converted to body waves, and spread into the medium. The transferred part of the energy is attenuated and has smaller amplitudes. Finally, a part of energy is trapped in the void region and bounces back and forth between the void boundaries, until it damps. The trapped energy is associated to higher modes of Rayleigh waves and excited Lamb waves. The effect of trapped energy is seen as a region in the vicinity of the void with concentrated energy, in frequency domain. The extents of this region depends on the void size, and the frequency content of the incident energy. Thus, in some cases it is possible to correspond the size of the model to the extents of the region with energy concentration. <br /><br /> A new technique is proposed to determine the location of a void, and estimate its embedment depth. The technique is called Attenuation Analysis of Rayleigh Waves (AARW), and is based on the observed damping effect of the void on the surface responses. For verification, the results are compared to experimental field and laboratory data. The observations are in good agreement with the observed numerical results. Further, the AARW technique showed to be a promising tool for void detection.

The use of geophysical testing methods has considerable potential to be a cost effective and accurate technique to assess near-surface soil conditions. Multi channel analysis of surface waves (MASW) test is a geophysical non-intrusive test that uses the dispersive characteristic of Rayleigh waves to estimate low strain shear modulus and damping coefficient of near-surface soil. Also, this technique is used to detect underground voids. Recently, MASW technique has gained more attention, partly because of its ease of use and partly because of the significant improvements in data acquisition systems. The theories of MASW test consider the effect of horizontal soil layering, though the effect of lateral inhomogeneities (i. e. cavities and voids), inclined layering and inverse layering (i. e. a layered system in which the top layers are stiffer than the bottom ones) are not addressed properly in these theories. <br /><br /> The objective of this dissertation is to investigate the effect of lateral inhomogeneities on the propagation of Rayleigh waves in an elastic half-space excited by a transient loading. The results can be applied to locate underground cavities using MASW test and to improve the MASW analysis techniques. In lieu of theoretical solutions, two and three dimensional numerical models are constructed to simulate the MASW test. To assure the quality of the obtained data, numerical models are calibrated with Lamb solution. Voids with different sizes and embedment depths are inserted in the medium. Responses along the surface as well as inside the medium are recorded and analyzed in time, frequency, spatial and frequency-wave number domains. Different material types and sources are used to generalize the results. Afterwards, the combined effect of void and layered systems on the surface responses are studied. To verify the results, experimental field and laboratory data are presented and the trends are compared to the numerical results. <br /><br /> It is found that the void starts to vibrate in response to the Rayleigh wave excitation. Due to the vibration of the void energy partitioning occurs. Part of the incident energy is reflected in the form of Rayleigh wave. Another part is converted to body waves, and spread into the medium. The transferred part of the energy is attenuated and has smaller amplitudes. Finally, a part of energy is trapped in the void region and bounces back and forth between the void boundaries, until it damps. The trapped energy is associated to higher modes of Rayleigh waves and excited Lamb waves. The effect of trapped energy is seen as a region in the vicinity of the void with concentrated energy, in frequency domain. The extents of this region depends on the void size, and the frequency content of the incident energy. Thus, in some cases it is possible to correspond the size of the model to the extents of the region with energy concentration. <br /><br /> A new technique is proposed to determine the location of a void, and estimate its embedment depth. The technique is called Attenuation Analysis of Rayleigh Waves (AARW), and is based on the observed damping effect of the void on the surface responses. For verification, the results are compared to experimental field and laboratory data. The observations are in good agreement with the observed numerical results. Further, the AARW technique showed to be a promising tool for void detection.

This research investigates how ultrasonic damage monitoring in civil structures can be implemented on a small, battery-powered, self-contained device. The device is intended for the continuous monitoring of surface breaking cracks in steel using Rayleigh waves. This study in detail presents the challenges that are to be considered for the intended ultrasonic monitoring, with the objective to provide a foundation for the future development of a fully autonomously operating device. The study proposes a suitable hardware and software layout, and a prototype device is built using a digital signal processor, a commercial wireless transceiver, and custom amplification circuits. With the help of two narrowband ultrasonic contact transducers in a pitch-catch setup and appropriate contact wedges, the wave field that arises from scattering of an incident tone burst wave at a crack is measured. A data analysis algorithm extracts wave burst signals from the acquired output in order to minimize the data that is to be transmitted. Additional compression of the data and the implementation of a communication protocol allow for a reliable and efficient wireless transmission. In order to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach, measurements of notches in a steel plate with different depths are taken. Measurement results from experiments with commercial ultrasonic equipment are compared to measurements taken with the prototype device. The influence of the sampling distortions on the signals are analyzed. The scope of this study is limited to a qualitative analysis of the experimental results; quantitative methods to determine the dimensions of a crack or notch from the measured data are not included. The research conducted demonstrates that taking ultrasonic measurements with a small, self-contained device is feasible. Comparison of frequency-based to time-based signal analysis methods yields that frequency-based methods are preferable, as they are affected less by sampling effects. The experimental results show that the intended ultrasonic examination technique can be used for qualitative damage assessment. The knowledge gained in this study contributes to improving the safety of civil infrastructure. Continuous local damage monitoring as proposed helps to detect critical conditions in-time, and to take countermeasures to avoid catastrophic failures.

Nonlinear ultrasonic waves have demonstrated high sensitivities to various microstructural changes in metal including coherent precipitates; these precipitates introduce a strain field in the lattice structure. The thermal aging of certain alloy steels leads to the formation of coherent precipitates, which pin dislocations and contribute to the generation of a higher harmonics in an initially monochromatic wave. The objective of this research is to develop a robust technique to perform nonlinear Rayleigh wave measurements in metals using a non-contact receiving transducer. In addition a discussion about the data processing based on the two-dimensional diffraction and attenuation model is provided in order to calculate the relative nonlinearity parameter. A precipitate hardenable material, 17-4 PH stainless steel, is used to obtain different precipitation stages by thermal treatment and the influence of precipitates on the ultrasonic nonlinearity is assessed. Conclusions about the microstrucutural changes in the material are drawn based on the nonlinear Rayleigh surface wave measurement and complementary measurements of thermo-electric power, mircohardness and ultrasonic velocity. The results show that the nonlinearity parameter is sensitive to coherent precipitates in the material and moreover that precipitation characteristics can be characterized based on the obtained experimental data.

Este trabalho teve como objetivo a realização de um estudo sobre o método MASW (Análise Multicanal de Ondas de Superfície) avaliando-se comparativamente resultados obtidos por diferentes fontes (ativas e passivas), ondas Rayleigh e Love e diferentes modos de propagação das ondas de superfície. Dois ensaios sísmicos foram executados: com geometria de aquisição bidimensional e geofones triaxiais de 10Hz, e com geometria linear e geofones de componente vertical de 4,5Hz. Foram realizados estudos com as fontes marreta, compactador de solo, ruído ambiental e com o tráfego de veículos, a última através da técnica Passive Roadside MASW. Resultados de inversões com dados da componente vertical (ondas Rayleigh) das ondas de superfície foram avaliados com os de inversões conjuntas com a componente radial (ondas Rayleigh) e transversal (ondas Love). Analisou-se também os produtos de inversões da curva de dispersão do modo fundamental com os de inversões conjuntas com o primeiro modo superior. Os estudos foram realizados em frente ao Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciência Atmosféricas (IAG) localizado no interior do campus Cidade Universitária Armando de Salles Oliveira (CUASO) da Universidade de São Paulo (USP) no bairro do Butantã, São Paulo. A área de estudo possui informações de sondagem mista com descrição geológica do material e valores SPT (Standard Penetration Test) que foram utilizados para validação dos resultados. O compactador de solo demonstrou ser uma melhor fonte ativa em relação a marreta através de diferentes aspectos: geração de maior energia tanto na componente vertical quanto na transversal; espectros (V,f) de melhor qualidade; os dados apresentam a vantagem de poderem ser processados através da técnica f-k beamforming. A aquisição com o ruído ambiental não possibilitou a interpretação de curvas de dispersão devido ao pouco tempo de aquisição utilizado. Os dados obtidos pela técnica Passive Roadside MASW contribuíram com os dados de ativa através do registro de frequências mais baixas. Além disso, devido a clara identificação do 1° modo superior em seu espectro (V,f) foi possível a identificação do mesmo modo no espectro (V,f) dos dados de ativa, interpretação até então duvidosa. No entanto, a inversão conjunta das curvas de dispersão dos dados Passive Roadside com as dos dados de ativa não resultou em uma melhor inversão comparada com a inversão obtida apenas pelas curvas de ativa. A inversão conjunta de curvas das componentes radial (ondas Rayleigh) e transversal (ondas Love) com as curvas obtidas da componente vertical (ondas Rayleigh) também não trouxe um melhor resultado quando comparada com a inversão alcançada apenas com as curvas da componente vertical. A utilização do primeiro modo superior com o modo fundamental, no entanto, mostrou trazer melhoras significativas nos resultados das inversões em comparação com inversões apenas da curva do modo fundamental. Considerando as incertezas envolvidas os melhores resultados deste trabalho são convergentes com os dados de sondagem da área de estudo. No atual estágio de desenvolvimento do método MASW diversas etapas são bastante dependentes do operador. Neste sentido os estudos realizados neste trabalho contribuem para um melhor entendimento do método nos seus fundamentos, parâmetros de aquisição e processamento. / This work aim to study the MASW (Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves) method by comparing results obtained with different sources (active and passive), Rayleigh and Love waves and different modes of surface waves propagation. Two seismic tests were performed: one with two-dimensional acquisition geometry and 10Hz triaxial geophones, and the other with linear geometry and 4.5 Hz vertical component geophones. Studies were carried out with the following sources: sledgehammer, rammer compactor, ambient noise and vehicular traffic, the last through the Passive Roadside MASW technique. Inversions results with vertical component data (Rayleigh waves) were evaluated through joint inversions with the radial (Rayleigh waves) and transversal (Love waves) components. It were also analyzed the inversions results of the fundamental mode of the dispersion curve with the results of joint inversions with the first higher mode. The studies were carried out in front of the Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciência Atmosféricas (IAG) (Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Science) located inside the university campus Cidade Universitária Armando de Salles Oliveira (CUASO) of Universidade de São Paulo (USP) (University of São Paulo) in the neighborhood of Butantã, São Paulo. The study area has information with a geological material description and SPT (Standard Penetration Test) values that were used to validate the results. The rammer compactor showed to be a better active source in relation to sledgehammer through different aspects: generation of greater energy in vertical and transverse components; better quality of (V,f) spectrum; the data have the advantage that they can be processed using the f-k beamforming technique. The acquisition with ambient noise did not allow the dispersion curves interpretation due to the short acquisition time used. Passive Roadside MASW data contributed to the active data through the lower frequency. Besides that, due to the clear identification of the 1st higher mode in its (V,f) spectrum it was possible to identify the same mode in the (V,f) spectrum of the active data, interpretation that was, until then, doubtful. However, the joint inversion of the Passive Roadside dispersion curves with the active curves did not produce better results compared to the inversion obtained only by the active curves. The joint inversion of dispersion curves from radial (Rayleigh) and transversal (Love waves) components with the curves obtained by the vertical component (Rayleigh waves) also did not bring a better result when compared with the inversion achieved only by the vertical component curves. The use of the first higher mode with the fundamental mode, however, showed significant improvements in the joint inversions results compared to inversions only of the fundamental mode curve. Considering the uncertainties involved, the best results of this work converge with the a priori information of the study area. At the current MASW method stage of development, several steps are quite dependent on the operator. Therefore, the studies carried out in this work contribute to a better understanding of the method in its fundamentals, acquisition parameters and processing.